The Atlas who doesn't shrug

In the beginning, everything was glitter, burst and crackle. And celebration.

There was a time when I thought Dhoni kept more for the fun of running after the ball. You got the feeling he was waiting for it to go past him, say, to short third man, so that he could take off after it, cap slipping off, coloured hair flying all over, him sliding, all flourish, turning with the slide, head thrown back, hair everywhere again, and then the final hurl of the ball. It was a lot like Rene Higuita; it was not the goalkeeping Higuita was really after, it was the dribble past a couple of forwards, dreadlocks flying.

Dhoni's batting was an unending fireworks display. Sparks flew all around, especially in the direction of midwicket. Dhoni walked out in Visakhapatnam against Pakistan in 2005 with the strongest strut I've seen on a cricket field - with the exception of perhaps Matthew Hayden. Hayden's bounding run announced a sort of gladiatorial intent. Dhoni's rapid, muscular walk is purely intended to get him to the crease as quickly as possible. He says it never struck him that he was coming in to bat and returning to the pavilion at that speed. He is absolutely naturally and completely focused on the main event.

Once at the crease, Dhoni took his time. It is as if suddenly there was a slowing of the pulse. Boris Becker morphing into Bjorn Borg. He marked his guard, rested his bat on its handle about his pads, undid his gloves at the wrist, did the straps up again, cleared his vision with gloved left hand and re-focused his eyes. That focusing was seemingly the only giveaway of effort.

Dhoni's bat then turned alternately into a scythe, a bludgeon, a paddle, a ramp, and occasionally a flat block of wood. In his stance, the bat was swung in from so high that it is a wonder it didn't dig a hole in the crease. His head had a slight upward tilt, his weight on the heels of his feet. Behind the wicket leg side, the paddle tapped the ball on its head. Behind the wicket off side, it was sent over the slips on the ramp. Square of the wicket off side, everything was scythed. Leg side front and square, most were bludgeoned. Occasionally, when he needed to defend, he blocked with a curious low, bending block. And he ran like the wind.

Then, just as we thought the works had died down and it was time to go home, came one final shimmering burst. A hammer-thrower's final swing was borrowed to hit yorkers into the stands at wide midwicket. The "helicopter" is regularly seen being practised by kids these days in playgrounds and alleyways, much before they could possibly get to hear of the forward-defensive stroke.

It is no great exaggeration to say the only classical shot Dhoni played then and now - slightly strange for an Indian batsman - is the hook. It is not the forward push that acts as trigger when he does. It probably helps that he is on his heels. Most shots seem to come from the not-inconsiderable strength of his legs, back and forearms, and a furious break of the wrists. Sometimes he swings himself almost off his feet.

There are some cricketers who remind you of others from the past. In Dhoni, I could see no other. There was a bit of Miandad here and there. But no one really similar. This is until recently, when I looked at the photograph in Nicholas Hogg's recent piece on sixes. Botham, head thrown back, was shown hitting Doshi into the stands. There was something about Botham's sixes that advertised power. Having climbed into the ball, his entire body seemed to lift at the point of contact, powering it into orbit.

Now that was Dhoni. No hitter of a six I've seen gives you a stronger impression of power, nearly launching himself along with the shot. Much the same as Afridi now and Botham then. There are no pretensions to timing or anything subtle. Viv Richards had a kind of feline grace and majesty to his sixes. Gayle is so huge that sixes seem to take a mere flick of his wrists. Yuvraj's sixes are about timing, the beautiful arcing downswing makes the hitting look effortless. Botham, Dhoni and Afridi make the six a statement of overpowering, awe-inspiring intent and finality.

There are some cricketers who remind you of others from the past. In Dhoni, I could see no other. There was a bit of Miandad here and there. But, no one really similar

Just after the 2007 World Twenty20 final or thereabouts, though, Dhoni's method changed. It turns out that the Borg impression in his stance held something of the future. Now his first 30 or so came to be built on the quick single and couple. Then appeared the occasional powerful stroke, but generally raw power was reserved for the very end, at times leaving it till you felt it was almost too late. But he stayed absolutely calm through all of it, at least on the outside. The block continued to be low and bending, but far more frequent.

He is still lightning between wickets. The undoing of the glove remains, and so do the other mannerisms. The focusing of the eyes has become more intense. Even now, that remains the only external indication of some form of stress.

His keeping now is steady and effective, safe, not spectacular. The effort that goes into it is sometimes underestimated. Crouching low and coming up 540 times a 90-over day, especially in India's March and April is insane enough. Doing it while captaining in all forms of the game beggars belief. Not to mention the additional load of the IPL.

What stands out now is his extraordinary awareness of body, mind and situation. And confidence in his method. During the IPL last year he kept saying you needed to know your body. Few statements have been pithier.

On that World Cup final night in Mumbai, he kept himself in check other than to put the odd bad ball away. A supremely confident, steadying hand, until the end was nigh. The massive, muscled six was a return to the old Dhoni, head indulging heart for a brief, lifting moment. Through the tournament, Dhoni's contributions were modest, but you felt even with those of Yuvraj, Zaheer and everyone else, things might not have worked as well under a different, less calm, captain.

Soon after the World Cup high followed the first set of real failures Dhoni experienced on a cricket field. Shaken from their all-too-brief perch at the top, India slumped massively. The batting flair that had shored up the bowling finally cracked under sustained pressure, first from pace then from spin. Dhoni, to his credit, took things squarely on an increasingly greying chin. Chennai was in fine balance and could have easily gone the Melbourne way, when Dhoni seized the moment with a brilliant counter-attacking double. This had a touch of Ganguly's 144 at the Gabba, and things turned completely around from that point on.

Then came the dominating Champions Trophy win. This and the comprehensive win against Australia at home showed he could take the lows just as well the highs, marking a sort of second coming of Dhoni as captain. It is too early to tell whether consistent results will follow in away Tests. From a point of view of overall contribution to Indian cricket, though, the progression of Dhoni from the carefree, spontaneous incandescence of a small-town youngster to a cricketing Atlas who never shrugs is complete.

1. Greatest Captain India has ever produced - Ganguly is compared.
2. Greatest finisher of the game - Bevan is compared.
3. Best WK Batsman of India - Kirmani is compared.
4. Captains all three forms of the game and plays and keeps in every match, bats well too - AB Devilliers is compared (Although ABD himself admitted captaining and keeping in all three forms is tough)
5. No other captain has all three ICC trophies
6. No other Indian captain took the test team to No.1 and stood there for 20 months.
7. Best wicket keeper batsman in the world - Gilchrist is compared.
So he is compared with Ganguly, Bevan, ABD, Kirmani, Gilchrist in their respective fields. And he is only ONE person. That is what makes MS Dhoni what he is. He may be a close second in every aspect of his game but he is a close second in EVERY aspect. Hats off to MS Dhoni. Sad that so many in my own country hate him so much.

Posted by android_user
on (September 24, 2013, 2:39 GMT)

The true character of a batsman comes out only when he chase down difficult targets nomatter what conditions.. Has anyone looked into MSD's batting average while chasing in ODIs? It's better than Bradman's.. It is 100.6
He is the only captain who has won all the major ICC championships.. I don't remember a steve waugh or Ian botham chasing sucessfully in India.. They were below average when it comes to chasing targets.. MSD is incomparable as he is unique and there was no one like him before and there will be no one like him after too.. Senseless, mindless talk abt his wicketkeeping is disgusting.. Do hell with the wicketkeeping! Look and admire his other qualities for a minute, You white fools! There's no other captain in the history of cricket who's so calm and composed and never shows any emotions whether his team win or loses.. Only one instance when he expressed his joy was when he and his team won CT 2013.. Ultimate team-man, Gentleman and a true student of cricket.. JAI HIND!!

Posted by &nbsp
on (September 23, 2013, 10:24 GMT)

I can see many here commenting about Dhoni's lack of technique on seaming/bouncy tracks. They seem to be unaware that the highest score by an Indian wicketkeeper batsman in England is from Dhoni - 92 and the highest score by an Indian wicketkeeper and at no.8 is in South Africa is by Dhoni - 90.

Posted by &nbsp
on (September 22, 2013, 5:57 GMT)

Having talked about his muscle power, we shouldn't forget his mind power as well. I haven't seen an Indian captain who was so strong mentally.
Very rarely has he expressed any emotions let alone tension and pressure. He definitely is the best captain Indian cricket ever had.
Yes Ganguly did turn the tide in Indian cricket near the turn of the century, but it was Dhoni who took it to the next level.

Posted by glen1
on (September 21, 2013, 1:28 GMT)

Fortunately he is still young enough to run the Indian team for a few more years. However, he should be the first sportsman to receive the Bharata Ratna. No one comes close to Dhoni to ever deserving this award---he is straight from the heartland and plays to win for India. No one has given Indian sports this much thrill; he is the envy of the world!

Posted by espncricinfomobile
on (September 20, 2013, 19:41 GMT)

with dhoni any score seems acheivable.in the ipl 2013 final even thoigh 50 odd runs were required in the last 3 overs with barely any wickets in hand there was always this feeling tht something could still happen till dhoni is onthe crease.

Posted by Rahulbose
on (September 20, 2013, 18:48 GMT)

Often great players are a product of their times, excelling in skills in demand by the game of a certain era. Dhoni's rise to me falls in that category. His assured power hitting is perfectly suited to the modern limited overs games in the T20 era. His wicket keeping is adequate in an era when Gilchrist has redefined the role of a keeper. And his captaincy skills have been boosted by confidence built through on-field success and strong backing by big wigs in IPL and BCCI.

Posted by &nbsp
on (September 20, 2013, 16:09 GMT)

This is brilliantly written. The thought process which has gone in is incisive. All in all, well worth the time to read.

Posted by &nbsp
on (September 20, 2013, 15:49 GMT)

We all talk about Dhoni's "midas touch" captaincy,lightning fast wicketkeeping skills,extraordinarily calm persona but i feel that his greatest contribution to indian cricket has been a change of belief amongst those watching the game.There was a time when people would doubt the indian team chasing for eg. 40 odd frm 50 balls.But now no matter what the target is,no matter how many wickets fall there is a sense of assurance that it is possible.This feeling is all the more evident when he isnt playing.That, along with all those qualities above make him the perfect blend of temperament,raw talent,placidness and intrepidity.

Posted by SamRoy
on (September 20, 2013, 11:08 GMT)

I still think Dhoni is just a par international standard wicket-keeper. His ball gathering skills are average at best. Not very safe. His stumpings are the quickest around and his catching skills are safe. But ball-gathering is probably the most important skill in a keeper has and Dhoni is very mediocre in it. So whenever there is variation of bounce in the wicket Dhoni's standard of keeping goes downhill very quickly. Batting skills-- except in pitches which have bounce and seam movement he is fine in every other conditions. Greatest ODI batsman after Viv and greatest ODI finisher ever. Very calm figure. India's best limited overs captain ever. Poor test captain as he is very defensive.

Posted by &nbsp
on (September 20, 2013, 8:28 GMT)

Seeing an article in praise of Dhoni is like a shade in mid of desert.
No matter what people thinks of him as a Cricketer as a Captain or as a Person for me he is an Ace in all these fields.
His technique is unique so are his shots n thats why he is different just like our Sehwag but bit sensible then him, no offense i Luv Sehwag too but he is little Sloppy.
As a Captain the way he keeps cool and the way he leads team no matter it to b a victory or lose he is same and sane. He does experiments and they are never in haste they might looks like a stroke of luck for naked mind but in real its a masterpiece in disguise.
Last but not the least as a person the way he keeps calm and composed through all crest and troughs is surely a inspiration for a guy like me too continue what you are doing n what you are passionate about.
In conclusion just wanna say that Dhoni is another Gem in the treasury of Indian or to be honest world Cricket.

Posted by &nbsp
on (September 20, 2013, 8:17 GMT)

All those commenting on Dhoni's keeping skills are missing a fundamental point. As ever wicketkeeper , who has played at some decent level, will know , the ultimate test of a wicketkeeper is when he is standing up to the stumps. This is where Dhoni scores. He has been brilliant when it comes to stumpings-probably the best ever in history. Plus his keeping on the turning dust bowls of India-a good example is the recent series against Australia- has been brilliant. Any decent wicketkeeper will tell you that standing behind is relatively easy- for you get a split second more for reacting. Even the likes of non-regulars like Rahul Dravid , even Umar Akmal are/were good standing back for this reason.

Posted by &nbsp
on (September 20, 2013, 8:10 GMT)

The greatest asset of Dhoni is that whatever rubbish or good things written about him do not affect him. You call him an average keeper , poor batsman, whatever, the truth is he delivers, particularly in crunch situations. And the beauty with a fact is that you cannot argue with it! it is a testimony to his hard work that he has been able to carve a niche for himself in a team that had so many accomplished stars - Anil Kumble, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Da, Viru Sehwag, Yuvi, Harbajan,etc. He has created his own mark and that too in quick time- in about 5 years or so. Plus remember he is the world's highest earning cricketer. He is way ahead of the rest. This is something that should not be forgotten when making comparisons , for it offers an insight into his 'ideal' personality- something that marketers want to exploit. No other cricketer- Indians included- comes close when it comes to this heady mix. Period.

Posted by Sunshyne
on (September 20, 2013, 6:43 GMT)

@Sughosh Veerambudhi ... very well put. When looked at from the overall perspective, nobody comes even close to the seemingly magical abilities of MSD. I wonder why does it have to be an orthodox manner in which a great player is supposed to be viewed. MSD's unorthodoxy (is that a word?) doesn't come from a need to be unorthodox for the sake of it ... but from the confidence in his ability to carry out the seemingly impossible.

Posted by &nbsp
on (September 20, 2013, 5:28 GMT)

@Steve Back - mate, have you seen Dhoni do a stumping? Or did you think the batsman was bowled?

Posted by &nbsp
on (September 20, 2013, 4:36 GMT)

@steve back. It was one bad series for him in England. But did he drop any crucial catch that swung matches??? I bet you cannot find one instance throughout his career!!! Thats the specialty of his keeping. He may seem casual, but he would hold on to every chance and with his remarkable athleticism and agility create many too. No wicketkeeper in the world can run behind a ball , as fast as him and return the ball on the run. Plus Plus- this is important- there is absolutely no wicketkeeper in the world- Indians included- who are better than him in stumping. Watch you tube montages and you will understand. He is light years ahead of others when it comes to keeping to spinners, especially on the turning dust bowls of India.

Posted by sportofpain
on (September 20, 2013, 1:28 GMT)

MSD is in a league of his own when it comes to big match temperament. Miandad, Steve Waugh, Punter were all greats when it came to taking a game to the finish but MSD is really something else. We should watch him closely because he is extra special. Non one before however great they were is in the same league. All of us cricket lovers should cherish him for the seemingly magical things that for him seem like mere routine because of his mental precision, utmost calm, immense skill and supreme belief in his ability.

Posted by IndiaGoats
on (September 20, 2013, 1:12 GMT)

I like the comparison with Miandad. While Miandad combined confidence and skill with unmatched presence of mind, he probably won't be classified as a slogger. Dhoni is all of that with probably a little less skill but more power. Both of them are true hustlers and would probably be two cricketers I would want in my team to save my life.

Posted by Longmemory
on (September 19, 2013, 22:41 GMT)

Has it occurred to anyone that its precisely because Dhoni does 540 sit-ups everyday as a wicket-keeper (not counting wides, no-balls and the assorted rubbish Indian bowlers often serve up) that his already-strong legs continue to be as phenomenally strong as they are? One minor point of disagreement: neither Botham nor MS throws hisr head back for the lofted straight six. Botham was technically an incredibly correct batsman, and MS, for all his other improvization, is classic on the straight drive for 6. They keep their heads absolutely still as they climb into the ball. Don't be fooled by the follow through - tho' even on that MS remains classical. Just go check that final 6 to win the WC in Mumbai - his eyes track the ball all the way into the stands.

Posted by McGorium
on (September 19, 2013, 22:03 GMT)

@The_other_side: Steve Back has a valid point. Dhoni isn't the greatest wk-batsman India has produced, not even close. The *primary* job of a wk-batsman is to keep wickets; batting is a bonus. This is especially true in test cricket, and somewhat true in ODIs. Keeping in ODIs is often easier, as pitches are usually flat (even Dravid did reasonable job in the past as an ODI keeper). In ODIs, Dhoni's amazing ability as a finisher typically makes up for his occasional fumbles behind the wicket. Turn to tests (esp overseas) and you see a very different picture: Dhoni's batting technique doesn't work on seamer friendly wickets (check his avg in Aus,Eng,SA), and his keeping is often found wanting under such conditions. K.More, Kirmani, even Mongia were better keeper-batsmen in tests, because they batted decently overseas(and home), but kept wickets extremely well. Dhoni has worked very hard at his keeping, and has improved since first picked,but even now he's just par as a test keeper.

Posted by soaf
on (September 19, 2013, 20:53 GMT)

MS Dhoni is the greatest find of indian cricket along with SRT.as a skipper,should be in the league of greatest ever captains of the game.He has really changed the face of indian cricket which was considered as pretty submissive unit outside of indian soil.having seen the indian teams of 80s and 90s which were quite below par in terms of talent and aggression when compare with the pakistani teams of same era. i think MSD has injected the elixir of self belief in the current indian outfit.on the other hand there is complete role reversal when you see current pakistani side.pakistan of today is the india of 90s.MSD is not only the greatest captain of india but also the best finisher and and devastating six hitter the world would have ever seen.please dont disgrace him by comparing with mindless slogger like afridi.from a pakistani fan of MR dhoni.

Posted by The_other_side
on (September 19, 2013, 20:46 GMT)

Mr Steve Back... The article is about Dhoni's temperament and batting style, not wicket keeping. Secondly if a cricketer wins as many cups as Dhoni did. I dont think he has to prove anything else. All said and done he is arguably the best finisher the game has seen

Posted by &nbsp
on (September 19, 2013, 19:56 GMT)

He's not a particularly good wicketkeeper though. In the 2011 UK Test series he let a lot of catches go past him and lots of byes through his legs.

He's a very good batsman but I personally thought cricinfo's choice of Dhoni as all-time Wicket-keeper batsman in the Indian Team was a joke. Get your best wicket keeper in there - Syed Kirmani.

Posted by DaGameChanger
on (September 19, 2013, 18:41 GMT)

Pleaseeeeee........I almost choked when you compared Dhoni to Afridi. Afridi just closes his eye and more than often mishits the ball rather than hitting it..Harbhajan singh would have had better career if he would've batted above the order. Dhoni bats with a target and almost like a soldier with a mission with all the artillery. Among all six hitters, Yuvraj is the Best in modern generation and Vivian from previous. I only saw Botham for few years but noway he was better than his best friend Vivian.

Posted by &nbsp
on (September 19, 2013, 17:54 GMT)

"Good one", specially for a DHONI fan...!!!!
There was a time when I used to watch the MATCH WINNING wicketkeepers like Gilchrist and Boucher and wonder when will India have a player like them.. The fact is that India never had a wicketkeeper of such dominating character also being consistent before Dhoni..
And if we go with the records then Dhoni is even better than the two "greats" in consistency.
But in INDIA there are many former players like Bishen Singh Bedi who never gives Dhoni the credit he deserves and questions why Dhoni was given a long run even after 8-0 test loss...
They should be asked only a simple question.. ""Sir how many times India have won ODI matches frequently before 2000 [ while chasing and also being 4/5/6 wickets down early] "" then compare it with Dhoni's record while chasing..
Dhoni is like a typical Aussie player of 90's...

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Krishna KumarHaving spent a considerable amount of time in Calicut and Ottawa, much of
it playing cricket, Krishna Kumar feels he is qualified to talk about anything that involves the game. While teaching Computer Science, among other things, he has compared an Operating Systems scheduler to a cricket captain, an over to a process and fielders to processor registers.